As the first all-new Lotus since the Exige made its debut in the United States back in 2006, the Evora, the world's only four-seat mid-engine sports car, enters the marketplace saddled with a dual mission: Attract new, more grown-up buyers to the brand, but, equally important, don't offend the current crop of customers whose youthfulness and hardcore devotion to a range of single-minded two-seaters has helped bring the boutique Brit back from the brink. While not a savior, per se, the Evora is a stepping stone for Lotus, designed to take the Norfolk, U.K.-based outfit to the next level. How? With a mature-audience hit intended to double U.S. sales while putting Porsche on alert. Has the maker succeeded? We'll have to wait to report on the former, but on the latter, yes, quite perfectly, in fact. We hold just a few minor caveats. First, though, let's examine the Evora's general brilliance.

Lotus founder Colin Chapman once said, "To go fast, add lightness," a principle that certainly holds true in the 2000-pound two-seaters, Elise and Exige, and to some extent the 3047-pound Evora you see here. Like any modern Lotus, the Evora's uniqueness starts with the Versatile Vehicle Architecture, an ultra-stiff modular structure consisting of bonded and riveted aluminum extrusions. For Evora, Lotus utilizes a 221-pound central aluminum tub with front aluminum and rear steel subframes (55 and 128 pounds, respectively) and a composite roof that weighs about eight pounds. All said and done, the complete structure, including a 51-pound seatbelt anchorage frame that also serves as rollover protection, tips the scales at under 500 pounds.

While adding lightness increases speed, so does horsepower. Given Lotus's longstanding relationship with Toyota, which supplies four-cylinder engines for the Elise and Exige, it's no surprise that the Evora gets Toyota force as well. In this case, the engine of choice is the Camry's 2GR-FE 3.5-liter V-6. Fitted with Lotus's T6e engine-management software, the FE pumps out 276 horses and 258 pound-feet in the Evora, resulting in a weight-to-power ratio of 11.0 pounds/horsepower (a 3176-pound Cayman S's is around 10.0). If you're wondering why Lotus didn't opt for the 2GR-FSE direct-injected 3.5-liter from the Lexus IS 350 (306-horsepower, 277-pound-feet), a Toyota insider tells us it could be for any or all of the following reasons: The DI motor would represent a considerable surcharge; its specific and high-tech engine-management system would require significantly more tuning and, thus, more development time and money; its high-pressure fuel plumbing would necessitate costlier (and heavier) hardware; and, well, maybe Toyota just said no.

Absolutely horrible photography. Were you taking photos of the building or the car? Why would we want to see a rear view from the angle that a squirrel would see right after it got run over?The next time please limit your "photographer" to one artsy-fartsy photo. We want to see the car.

Quote "After unlocking the car, you have 25 seconds to start it up; fail to do so, and the key fob's unlock button will require pushing again to reset the timer (and again and again until you're quick enough).Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/1007_2010_lotus_evora_test/review.html#ixzz0oYkspGYx"What the "heck" is Lotus thinking, what a stupid feature.It's not a real 2+2 and they want to save weight, why not a turbo 4cyl. A v6 from camry, come on, the owner of this car won't be a real car guy.But it is good looking, it's like that hot blonde with no brain. All show no go...

Some people really make me laugh by reading their posts. "for the price you get the heart of the Camry in the body of a supermodel".While Toyota's I-4 may not be as refined as many other automakers (I can admit that), they do, however, make one of the best V6's out there. Whether it's the Camry's 3.5L unit or the Lexus' unit, they're really powerful engines. I guess you just have to drive either a V6 Camry (or ES/IS) to find out... But from the I-6 in the Supra to the V-6's today, You have to applaud Toyota for their 6 cylinder engines... besides, who else would Louts ask? BMW? :D *Their V8's are pretty stout also... give them some credit* Lotus made a decent choice...

say hello to the nissan 370z at a minimum and the 370z nismo at most.honestly, why would anyone ever pay so much for something that is just a jerry-rigged camry. just an overly dressed up camry se-v6 thats what this thing is. too many cars that are better and cheaper than this lotus, not to mention the cayman which absolutely shows it up at a lesser price. and p.s. i dont know how a lotus is any more exclusive than a porsche. bummer.

Steelyknives, the Evora doesn't share a single solitary component with the Tesla and, in case you're not aware, the Tesla Roadster is built by Lotus for Tesla. All Tesla does is install the battery pack and electric motor into the "rollers" that Lotus builds for them.

Trackaholic and all others, check out the Evora vs. Cayman S comparison posted today on PopularMechanics.com, a straight-up comparison and the Evora wins. Anyone who questions the price of the Evora vs. Porsche and others need look no further than the chassis for substantiation of the value in Evora! While the Cayman, 911 and many others rely on 60 year old stamped steel unibody construction and ride on McPherson Strut suspensions (!!!) the Evora is a true 21st century sports car with 50 percent greater torsional rigidity than a Ferrari 430, low center of gravity, low polar moment of inertia and relative light weight (300 - 500 lbs. lighter than a 911 dependent upon equipment). The Evora may not overpower the competition (yet) in a straight line, but when the roads get curvy it'll drive circles around most everything else on the planet.

@92vectra1.6iWhere are you getting your information regarding how the 3.5 D.I. can be mounted? The reason I ask is because the 1.8t that VW used in the MKIV GTI, B5/B5.5 Passat, and various other vehicles could be mounted either transverse, or longitudinal depending on which transmission they mated to it. The only difference in the bell housings is between the manual or automatic.

I love the Elise, and admire Lotus for what they've been able to accomplish in the last decade or so. However, I find the Evora a bit disappointing.Basically, it's a Cayman, only slower and more expensive. I'd really like to see a head to head comparison, because I'd like to know how they compare in driving dynamics and test times with back-to-back tests.I expect a Lotus to be lightweight and extremely agile. I don't quite understand how this car ended up 1000 lbs heavier than an Elise, when it is only barely larger. I really feel they should have eliminated the "rear seats" and instead saved a couple hundred lbs by shortening the car.Overall its a nice car, but I still think the Cayman is better. May a true comparison will highlight the benefits of the Evora.-T

What has been produced with a D.I. 3.5 in a transverse application?? It may exist in theory and may be available soon (somewhere) but so far the transverse application 3.5 is a non D.I. engine. IF and WHEN Toyota introduces a production transverse 3.5 D.I. engine, don't be surprised if it ends up in this Lotus.

Beautiful car, but to echo the words typed before me, the pricetag is a little greedy, especially since the Toyota V6 is the heart of the car. Not that the engine is a bad engine. But they legally stole it from Toyota, and therefore they don't have the research and development expenses they would have had if the engine was actually built by Lotus themselves.I'm with the others when I say that Godzilla would reign my garage before this thing would, regardless of how insanely gorgeous it is.

ok..... A lotus with a Camry v6 for 74k; and specs my 34k 4dr Infiniti g can match with tire change. all i have to say is epic fail. i firmly agree with "thisguy" when he says this car is priced way outside the realm of realism. now throw on a pair of turbos for a 525ish hp output, now were talkin 80k

Yeah, I remember when Lotus used Honda B18C5 engines; for those who don't know, it's the Integra type-R motor. Yeah, for a $80,000+ car it's kind of odd that Lotus doesn't use "exotic European" in-house race engineering. But it's an obvious move to save money. Why infuse 100's of millions of $ in capital i.e. build a new production plant, engineer a new engine, etc. when there is already a good, reliable potent engine that fits the bill? I wish Lotus stuck with Honda twin cam, high compression, VTEC motors instead. Had the RSX type-S not fade into obscurity, then Lotus should've used that car's motor instead.

The reason the Camry V6 is used and not the Lexus D.I. version is the Camry is a transverse application (like the Lotus) and the Lexus is a longitudinal one. A lot of basic re-engineering would be required before they ever got to the detailed stuff (dealing with the engine's required high fuel pressure,etc.). For a small manufacturer it simply wouldn't be possible to absorb those costs. Now if Toyota offers a fwd/transverse application of the D.I. 3.5 (maybe in the next ES350?) I'd be surprised if it didn't end up in the Evora!

Gorgeous vehicle and will no doubt be pretty exclusive ownership.That said, I think I'd take the much much faster, less expensive, more refined, better looking, better built, more capable, etc, etc... CTS-V Coupe. Of course, like the post before pointed out, there are probably a few handfuls of vehicles that would win out if I were considering this market.I'd say its priced at least 28-35k above realism.

For 70K, I can get a nice Corvette. For the rest of the money, I can get me a used Celica! Yes, the Evora has nice body flow and all and I agree with TheGuard, I just cannot justify spending $80K for the Lotus Evora---unless the name or the emblem itself is worth $40K and the car itself is worth $40K.

Looks beautiful! But really, for the price? You get the heart of a Camry in the body of a supermodel... I don't think I could ever justify this for a purchase... GT-R? Sure it doesn't look as nice but it is a true sports car (with practicality) and a very fine engine. The only thhing I could ever think that yes, the Evora is a very exclusive automobile, but when you're driving on the highway and see other Camry's I couldn't help but be a little embarrased and feel like a pompous show-off.